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AMA
Could Develop Its Own Correct Coding InitiativeAre you ready for
another layer of coding oversight?

The
CPT guidelines have always specified some codes that you
shouldn't bill together, or codes to bill as add-ons. But
now the American Medical Association (AMA) could be going
much further.

This
June, the AMA should present a report to its House of Delegates
on the results of a resolution the Delegates passed last
summer. The resolution calls on the AMA to study "the
feasibility of developing a national standard for the utilization
of codes, code combination, and modifiers that is consistent
with all CPT codes, guidelines, and conventions, and that
would be used by all commercial and governmental payers."

In essence,
the AMA could develop its own version of the National Correct
Coding Initiative (NCCI), coding experts say. This could
provide some invaluable guidance to coders, but also could
constitute another layer of micromanagement on coding.